Gunmen kidnap 11 passengers in Rivers

Chukwudi Akasike  and Friday Amobi,  Port Harcourt

Gunmen, on Monday night, intercepted a commercial bus along the Ndele-Elele area of East-West Road in the Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State and kidnapped 11 passengers.

The victims had boarded the bus at Rumuokoro at about 7pm in Port Harcourt and were travelling to Ndele, Elele and Ahoada before the incident happened about an hour later.

It was gathered that some of the passengers narrowly escaped the kidnap because they alighted before the vehicle got to its final destination (Ahoada).

One of the victims, Mr. Bright Welekwe, who escaped from the kidnappers a few hours after the abduction, spoke to The PUNCH in a telephone interview on Tuesday.

Welekwe said 18 persons boarded the bus at Rumuokoro, stating that three of the passengers alighted at Ndele before the incident occurred.

He added that the bus was intercepted by some gun-wielding men two minutes after leaving a police checkpoint, saying the 17 persons in the vehicle were forced into the bush at gunpoint.

Welekwe said after the captives had walked a long distance into the bush, he sneaked into another area of the forest and escaped.

He added that he met four of the passengers, who he said had also escaped, adding that the police later came to rescue five of them at that point.

Welekwe stated, “We were 19 that boarded a bus from Rumuokoro on our way to Ahoada, but when we got to Ndele, three people disembarked. It did not take long; along the bush between Ndele and Elele Alimini, hoodlums ambushed us and took us inside the bush. Four other persons and I escaped before police personnel arrived at the scene.

“But I am sure they did not rescue the rest that night even with the help of soldiers. Police officers carried five of us to a place where we boarded another vehicle to our destinations.”

The state police commissioner, Mr. Zaki Ahmed, confirmed the incident on a radio programme, adding that the police had since swung into action with a view to rescuing the victims and apprehending the hoodlums without delay.

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